Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 15 STR 5 12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 HTH Damage [1] 14 DEX 12 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5 13 CON 6 12- 9 BODY -2 11- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12- 11 EGO 2 11- ECV: 4 13 PRE 3 12- PRE Attack: 2 1/2d6 10 COM 0 11- 7 PD 1 Total: 7 PD (3 rPD) 7 ED 1 Total: 7 ED (3 rED) 3 SPD 6 Phases: 4, 8, 12 6 REC 0 24 END -1 25 STUN 1 Total Characteristic Cost: 34 Movement: Running: 5"/10" Leaping: 2"/4" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills In The Clearing Stands A Boxer: Martial Arts: Boxing Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Bob and Weave -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 3 Clinch -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, 25 STR for holding on 5 Jab +1 +3 3d6 Strike Perks 9 I Do Declare, There Were Times When I Was So Lonesome I Took Some Comfort There: Contact: The whores on Seventh Avenue (They respect him because he respects them) (Contact has significant Contacts of their own), Organization Contact (x3) 11- Talents 6 A Figher By His Trade: Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) Skills 2 Or Cut Him 'til He Cries Out In His Anger And His Shame: +1 With Haymaker 3 Seeking Out: Concealment 12- 2 A Boxer And A Fighter By His Trade: KS: Boxing 11- 3 When I Left My Home And My Family I Was No More Than A Boy: Oratory 12- 3 Or Cut Him 'til He Cried Out In His Anger And His Shame: Paramedics 12- 3 Laying Low: Stealth 12- 3 Looking For The Places Only They Would Know: Streetwise 12- 2 The Poorer Quarters, Where The Ragged People Go: Survival (Urban) 12- 3 Jack Of All Trades 2 1) A Boxer And A Fighter By His Trade: PS: Boxing 12- 1 2) In The Company Of Strangers: PS: Hobo 11- 2 3) When I Left My Home And My Family I Was No More Than A Boy: PS: Storyteller 12- 3 Traveler 1 2) Well I'm Laying Out My Winter Clothes And Wishing I Was Gone, Going Home: AK: Home County (A Bit Outdated... Hasn't Been Back For Years) 11- 1 1) In The Quiet Of The Railway Station: AK: Railways Of The Eastern Seaboard 11- 1 3) Where The New York City Winters Aren't Bleeding Me: CK: New York (Everyman (He's Been In New York Long Enough It Counts As "Home Area" )) 13- Total Powers & Skill Cost: 66 Total Cost: 100 50+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: And He Carries The Reminders Of Every Glove That Laid Him Down. (Concealable; Noticed And Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima 5 I Am Just A Poor Boy, Though My Story's Seldom Told: Poor 15 A Pocket Full Of Mumbles, Such Are Promises All Lies And Jests. Psychological Limitation: I Have Squandered My Resistance. Gullible. (Very Common, Moderate) 10 Reputation: He Hears What He Wants To Hear And Disregards The Rest., 8- (Extreme) 5 I Come Looking For A Job, But I Get No Offers. Social Limitation: High School Dropout (Occasionally, Major, Not Limiting In Some Cultures) 5 Running Scared. Social Limitation: Dark Secret (Occasionally, Major, Not Limiting In Some Cultures) Total Disadvantage Points: 100
Background/History: While a more straightforward reading of the lyrics of "The Boxer" suggest that the first person narrator and the boxer are not the same person, I think Paul Simon intended a certain ambiguity of identity. In any case, combining them makes for a more complete and interesting character, in my opinion.
Personality/Motivation: The Boxer's most notable trait is gullibility. Despite having spent a few years learning about the seamier side of life, he still tends to trust that other people's intentions are good and honorable, and is often inclined to believe what he's told. He's trying to learn to "not be such a sap!" and sometimes life seems intent on beating it out of him, but he still has to make an EGO roll (adjusted by circumstances, and possibly with Streetwise or a similar skill as complementary) to mistrust or disbelieve someone. On the other hand, his undimmed enthusiasm and unstoppable faith make him a compelling, and surprisingly poetic, speaker sometimes.
He has some kind of harmful secret in his past - or thinks he does, as certainly no one is ever known to have come after him, but something made him run away from home as a teenager, hitchhiking or riding the rails until he landed in New York. A chance encounter got him into the "fight game" when he impressed a gym owner with the way he disposed of a couple of muggers. He took way too many shots to the face before learning to duck or block.
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Powers/Tactics: Although his build puts him usually in the bantamweight or featherweight category, the boxer is definitely competent at his trade. If he learns a couple more aggressive damaging punches, he could be a contender. If his 3d6 jabs aren't getting the job done, he'll go to blocking and dodging, waiting for an opening or trying to wear out his opponent, or go for a clinch and then follow up with a haymaker. He doesn't follow boxing rules in a brawl, and will grab and throw, haymaker from behind with a club, or do anything else he feels the situation warrants. He's gullible (and people who know this can use it to distract him in a fight - "Look, it's the cops !") but not dumb, nor is he a musclebound hulk incapable of subtlety - he has Stealth and Concealment. Nor is he a berserker - if there is nothing to gain in a fight (he's not protecting someone for example) he's perfectly willing to cut and run, even if - perhaps especially if - he's winning.
Campaign Use: With a fighting weight of 50 pts plus 50 Disadvantage pts, The Boxer is suitable as a player character in some low-powered games using Dark Champions or Pulp Hero, or as a sidekick to a standard powered character - he'd probably be very loyal if he found someone who proved over time that they will NEVER take advantage of him. He fits easily anytime in the 20th century and into the late 19th and early 21st, and with a few changes could be dropped in any major city in the world. With a few tweaks, he could appear in any historical, fantastic, or futuristic setting where boxing or a similar martial art is practiced professionally.
As a contact or encounter for the players, remember - He's a boxer, he's gullible, he has contacts on the street - there's no limit to the ways The Boxer can get into trouble, and no reason he wouldn't ask the player characters for help if he needs it. He's also perfectly ready to help if asked, and can be readily added to a party that may need one more good hand to hand combatant, or be a source of information if none of the characters have local knowledge or the Streetwise skill. Or even if they do and their own contacts just aren't connected right now.
Appearance: Prize fighter's face - he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him til he cried out in his anger and his shame.
He's also absolutely bristling with plot hooks, but that should probably be left off the visual description.
The Boxer's Hero Designer File
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